Sometimes I struggle to swallow

Posted , 6 users are following.

Hello,

I'm not sure whether it's normal but sometimes when I'm eating a meal I find it really hard to swallow. I do the normal chew and then as I try to swallow the food just stays at the back of my throat. It feels like I can't do the natural swallow action, like the back of my tongue won't do it's thing and send the food down. It takes a few tries before I can do it and sometimes food sits there and I'm trying to swallow but feel like I need to breathe it's really scary.

This never used to happen so I'm worried something's up.

Does anybody else have experience of this and should I tell my doctor?

Thank you

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    How old are you?

    How long has this been going on for?

    Any other changes you’ve noticed?

    Have you sought medical attention for this previously?

    Any medical conditions? Previous Surgery?

    Any pain when swallowing? Any dental problems?

  • Posted

    HI JAMES. I HAVE SUFFERED WITH THIS SINCE I WAS 16 AND AM NOW 50.

    MINE STARTED ONE MORNING WHEN I GOT UP AND COULDN'T EVEN SWALLOW MY OWN SALIVA AND OF COURSE THE PANIC SETS IN. TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT I WAS ACTUALLY TOLD TO GO HOME, STOP BEING SUCH A SILLY LITTLE GIRL ITS ALL IN YOUR HEAD.

    ITS NEVER GONE AND I WAS EVEN SENT FOR A BARIUM MEAL WHICH WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AS I HAVE TO JERK MY BODY TO SHOCK MY THROAT INTO SWALLOWING.

    RECENTLY WENT TO A DIFFERENT DOCTOR WHO SAID HE WAS GOING TO REFER ME AS I HAVE OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS. GREAT I THOUGHT. THAT WAS 9 WEEKS AGO.

    MINE IS GETTING WORSE AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TURN NEXT AND CAN'T AFFORD TO GO PRIVATE. 

    PLEASE LET ME NOW HOW YOU GET ON.

    ALL THE BEST.

     

  • Posted

    Hey James,

    my Son never had that issue, but the Doctor who saw him that diagnosed him with achalisia said we have two sphincter . One in the back of our throats and the other at the bottom of the stomach. That might help you A bit.

    i would see a doctor asap as you need to find out what's going on.

    best of luck to you. God Bless

  • Posted

    Sometimes our bodies just acts up for no known reason. If it continues or bothers you, mention it to your Dr. and ask him to do an upper GI series which would include a barium swallow usually with speech pathology as well. This would rule out a few things that might be going on. Such as mild Alchalasia or just narrowing of the esophagus which might need to be stretched. An esophageal dilatation. Sometimes nerves and anxiety can cause you to experience what you described. If you have anxiety and are taking some type of anxiolytics they too can cause your brain and swallowing reflex to be out of sync/unisome. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It isn’t going to hurt you and more likely than not it’s nothing that will even need to be treated. Sometimes things disappear just as quickly as they made themselves known. For some reason or another, I get the impression that you may be a worrier and somewhat fixated on your health. Of course I have no way of knowing this for sure, but it is plausible. Talk to your Doc about it if it doesn’t subside in its own in a week or two. 

    Take care my friend...

    DJ~RN

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